Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights

"What were you thinking?!"

The woman in question grunted in response, trying to ignore the pain in her abdomen as the miqo'te next to her went to work stitching her insides back together with magic.
She grits her teeth--hard--her ears pinning back against her skull. She wouldn't look at him, wouldn't allow her mismatched blue and green to meet his crimson gaze. the woman already knew the disapproving glare she'd find there so what was the point? "I wasn't."

He scoffed, his expression softening though he didn't allow his concentration to waver. "Of course you weren't." He pressed his fingers into her side a little harder than necessary, an ear twitching when he earned another pained grunt. "You never do."

"S'not like I could have asked the bastards to wait around for me to come up with a plan."

"You don't plan."

"Well, you're not wrong."

The miqo'te gave a huff gave a huff, gently smacking his crystalline hand against his hero's freshly healed wound, earning him a yelp. "HEY WHAT THE FUCK--"

"We're done here."

The lavender-haired woman pushed herself into a sitting position and reached for the light linen top she had been wearing before in one fluid motion. She situated her arms into the sleeves and yanked the cloth over her head, pulling down at the hem to situate it over her midsection.
"Kai...you can't wear that."

"Huh? What? Why not?"

"Kai."

The miqo'te in question looked down at the shirt, scarred brow furrowing at the sight. The entire right and lower half of the garment was absolutely drenched in blood; both belonging to the scrappy young woman and the threat she had dispatched. "Mmn...yeah, I guess I can see it Exarch."

"You guess?" He seemed incredulous and his tone caused the woman's face to break into an absolutely contagious grin, her laughter echoing through his chamber. She yanked the shirt back up over her head and wadded it up, dropping it next to her when her companion motioned for her to do so.
She wiped the lingering sheen of sweat from her brow as she stood. "Thanks for the assist, Rocky." The woman gave him a two-finger salute and a wink as she stood and exited the Crystal Exarch's personal chamber.

"Rocky?"

---

"You know...for some reason I didn't expect you to be here." Kai'en flashed her visitor a half-hearted smile as she stepped into her room at the Pendants, pulling the door to behind her.

"Oh, don't mind me, Hero."

Kai'en moved to the plush bed and let her body fall onto it like a bag of bricks, not bothering with another shirt. She was too tired all of a sudden; as if she'd been running on fumes and now even that had run out. Besides...it wasn't as if her guest hadn't seen her in less.

"When was the last time you had a break, Hero?"

This earned a tired grunt from the miqo'te as she tried to toe her boots off, giving up on her endeavor a moment later. She couldn't be arsed. "No rest for the wicked." came the reply.
Her muscles tensed, startled, as a hand gently landed on her leg; the soft sound of robes moving about as the individual placed themselves on the floor. She felt their hand slip down her leg, moving to unclasp the buckle at her calf before deftly untying the laces and slipping the offending piece of footwear from her foot. "H-hey, you...you don't have--"

"I want to," the voice softly responded. They pulled off her other boot and moved them to the side, placing them next to the large, two-handed sword that sat by her bed. With that, they pulled themselves up from the floor and settled onto the bed next to the exhausted Warrior of Darkness. They allowed themselves to reach out, their slender fingers brushing the ragged edge of Kai'en's torn ear before carding through her short lavender hair. "You're always doing so much--"

She pushed the hand away and sat up to face her guest, a frown settling onto her soft features. "Because I want to."

"Want to or feel obligated to?"

"No one else can do it..."

"They rely on you over much, Hero."

She tucked her legs up under herself, wincing at the weird pressure on her still tender wound. "Emet...you know--" The man in question fixed her with a strange look...if Kai'en didn't know any better she'd think it almost seemed...soft. That, however, was impossible. The Ascian in front of her was many things, but she doubted she could count soft amongst them.

She was wrong, of course. When it came to the Warrior of Darkness Emet-Selch was extremely soft. He hid it well, but the rough-looking half miqo'te woman had him wrapped around her finger.

If only she knew...

Maybe he'd tell her.

He had to staunch a laugh at the thought. There was no fucking way he could do that. Absolutely not. She was a means to an end. A tool to be utilized and tossed aside when her usefulness had run its course.
The fact that he was in love with her meant absolutely nothing. Had to mean nothing. He couldn't let himself...a soft, wounded noise died in his throat as his golden eyes met her mismatched ones.

It was too late, wasn't it?

He leaned toward her, a hand delicately resting against her toned thigh. He inhaled her scent; all bloody copper and sweat, freshly turned earth from where she had lain her aggressors to rest--dirt still clinging to the spaces beneath her nails.
It wasn't...wholly unpleasant...though he supposed it was only because it was her.

She leaned in a little as well, one hand resting over his, the other laying still in her lap. He closed the gap between them in one movement; his lips, cold and chapped, pressing into her own.

Soft.

Warm.

Emet-Selch's free hand moved to cradle the back of her head, fingers threading through the soft silk of her hair as he pressed her into himself. A startled mewl bubbled up in the miqo'te's throat only to be swallowed by the Ascian's ravenous kiss. He took this opportunity to slip his tongue into the warm cavern of her mouth, his own muscle lightly running over her sharp canines before twining with hers.

They pressed together, devouring one another until the need for oxygen drove them apart. The younger woman looked up at him, her face flushed, lips swollen from the Ascian's bruising kisses.

"Emet..." his name left her lips in a soft moan that caused his breath to stutter and hitch in his throat.

Shit.

His gaze bore into hers and he knew. He knew as sure as he could hear the blood rushing in his ears.

This woman would be the death of him...and he welcomed it with open arms.